Enter Team Thirteen!
by inklet101
Summary: Team Thirteen has always been alongside their Genin counterparts, but now, they are fighting a battle that is not their own, but one that belongs to our beloved Team Seven.


~~Well, this is a Naruto fic, with characters that me and my friend made up.. So the universe and every character except Seiku, Aishou, Animo, Tora, Pip, Fang, and Duli go to their creator! I hope everyone enjoys this. Yes, other Naruto characters will show up, but this is sort of a prologue, to introduce the new characters into the Naruto world.

Chapter One

"Well, that was uneventful." Seiku was the first to speak. A glance at her team mates told her that they agreed, in more ways than one.

"Uneventful and lame, like a horse with four broken legs." Animo grumbled, ignoring the look she gave him for his terrible pun. "I really hate dogs right now." That comment resulted in two growls and an exasperated look from Seiku.

"Oh, uh, sorry, guys. I didn't mean you." This reassurance was sent to the unreassured Tora the dog and Aishou the human, who had growled just as sharply as Tora had. Animo shifted on his next jump, every so slightly, so that Seiku was between him and the threat, namely Aishou.

"Whatever. At least Tora knows better than to pee on my foot. Ew!" Seiku made a face, looking down at her stinky boot. Tora barked, earning a grin from her. Aishou wasn't half as concerned as her team mates, which was obvious to Seiku. The moment she had gotten there, she had been swamped by excited, happy, and awed dogs, who had loved her from the start. _Probably the whole "grew up with dogs, speaks dog, has one as a life-time partner, and thinks they have more sense then humans" thing._ She wrinkled her nose as the smell from her boot wafted up to her nose. _Then again, that's kinda useful._

She brushed back her shoulder-length white hair and crouched slightly to push off of a branch. They were running in the ninja-style way through the trees and Anko, who was in front of them, said they had an important mission waiting for them when they got back. The pale Genin made a face; waiting for them meant they wouldn't get a break and she wouldn't get to shower and get dog crap off her. Washing those animals had taken forever and she smelled like one right now. And she didn't even want to think about how bad Animo smelled. He had fallen in it.

Her golden eyes narrowed slightly as she watched her team mates. Out of all of them, Aishou had easily gotten the easiest job, as the dogs practically adored her and cleared paths for her wherever she had walked. The short ninja, whose brown hair and brown eyes looked so canine, it was surprising she didn't howl every time the moon came it, looked quite at home, with Tora shoved down her jacket. The little dog was cute, though, and played with Fang, so Seiku had nothing against her. Techniquely, she had nothing against any of her team mates, though Aishou had changed a lot since they were children. Aishou had been so sweet as a kid, but now, she was tense, mistrustful of strangers, and hadn't been comfortable around Seiku, because of their different views. Luckily, she had warmed up to both Seiku and Animo and they were friends again, mostly.

Animo had freckles right under his amber eyes and his hair was a stunning auburn red. He would be hot, if he wasn't such an idiot. Some people had compared him to Naruto, which was more than a little irritating. While both were immature and slightly crazy, Animo had a tendency to become extremely hyper. And not, bounce-of-the-walls-for-a-few-minutes kind of hyper either. Animo had the tendency to literally become attached to the ceiling, and it always fell to Seiku to peel him off. He also always felt the need to be friends with _everyone_ and followed Aishou and her around like a lost puppy. Animo accepted Seiku as the leader and obeyed her, usually, unless it meant working too hard. And his feelings for rocks. Seiku pinched her nose. Weird.

Anko was up in front of them, leading the way. It was abnormal for a Jonin who concentrated on certain areas, not an all-around ninja, to become a sensei, but she had because of her skills in assassination and spying. Tsunade had wanted to pass that on to some students and Anko had been happy to do it. Or, maybe, _happy_ wasn't the word to use. She was a great sensei though, and Seiku had learned a lot from her. But trusting her was a whole other issue. After Duli Umi, it was a little hard.

Animo bounded up between them again, having gotten over his temporary fear of Aishou.

"Guys, do you remember when Aishou first joined our squad?" He asked, looking very thoughtful, which was a little strange for him. Seiku nodded, glancing at Aishou who nodded as well, asking a little sarcastically,

"Yeah, sure I do. I mean, that was me, right?" Seiku laughed, pointing out,

"Remember, this is Animo, he doesn't have to make sense." The auburn-headed ninja pouted, but got back to his point almost immediately.

"Yeah, well, I was wondering why Aishou wasn't in a squad when all of us were.." He said, with a small shrug. Aishou glanced at him and then at Tora, who licked her neck and she made a face.

"I guess because the Hokage didn't know I existed." She said, as if that was perfectly normal. Seiku rolled her eyes, but where Aishou couldn't see. Animo looked appeased, which figured, Seiku thought.

"I remember how depressed we were. I mean, after Duli died..." Animo's face clouded and he glanced away, fists clenching. Seiku bit her lip, wishing she hadn't been so stupid as to bring that up. It was frustrating, how she still cried over that boy. She missed the look on Aishou's face as she glanced around at her quiet team mates. They were lucky Anko hadn't heard his name, because he was a bad memory for her too.

Aishou could tell what Animo was thinking. Probably something like: _If I could get my hands on that stupid, idiotic moron, I would kill him! That stupid sonuva-_ But Seiku's face was as emotionless as ever. She kept her thoughts and feelings to herself and was one of the hardest people for Aishou to read. She knew where to look to find emotions on a person and most people were like open books, ready to read whenever she felt like it. But Seiku's book was bound and locked; she kept everything bottled up. Seiku seemed to realize that no one was talking and, to end the silence, she said quietly,

"Yeah, Lady Hokage summoned us after the funeral, remember?" Animo popped up next to her, having bounced back from his momentary lapse of inattention.

"I remember that. I was all, who the heck is that and why does she have a dog in her jacket and how come I've never seen her before and-"

"We get the point, Animo." Seiku interrupted with a small smile. "You didn't know who she was." Aishou nodded, saying,

"And I wanted to know why you," She pointed at Seiku. "Had a bat on your shoulder, talking to you. Where is Pipsqueak anyway?" She added the last part, looking around for the creature. Seiku grinned.

"He exchanged with Fang awhile back and now he's hiding in my pant pocket, where it doesn't smell as bad." Aishou nodded. Seiku touched the bulge in her black pants and felt the electricity spark between her hand and her soul partner. So far, Pip and Fang were her two soul partners, creatures she could summon from tattoos painted on her body. They could come to life, and at least one had to be out and with her at all times, just because they were protective like that. Aishou glanced down at Tora, who was woofing, and then said,

"Wonder what this mission is. Seems awfully important, for the Hokage to be waiting for us to get back." Seiku shrugged and Animo looked clueless, as always.

"Maybe it's something besides a D-ranked mission." She suggested, bounding off another tree limb. She felt excited, for the first time in ages. Maybe the Hokage had finally realized their potential. Sure, Duli Umi had been the best out of their team, but Aishou was a very strong fighter, especially in her wolf form, Animo's genjutsu/taijutsu combination was as powerful as ever, and Fang had never failed Seiku, not once.

Maybe Team Seven wasn't going to steal everything from them. With Naruto, who had stunned everyone at the Chunin exams, and Sasuke, who was the Shadingan heir, they were definitely one of the more skilled teams, especially with their sensei, Kakashi Hatake. She clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached. She would become better than Sasuke if it took everything she had. That look was one Aishou could read.

"You okay?" She wanted to know, watching the frustration disappear as Seiku composed herself and nodded. Standard procedure. Seiku wouldn't admit something was wrong if she was being held a knife-point. Too much pride. The white-blonde thrust off another branch and asked,

"Do you remember Kiba? He went hysterical when he saw you, Aishou." Aishou rolled her eyes.

"It's kind of hard not to forget. He practically ran me down, trying to tell me who he was and asking if I remembered him." She made a face and Seiku laughed. Aishou did _not_ like being tackled and hugged.

"I remember that too. You nearly stabbed him with one of your lovely, sharp daggers. I don't think I've ever seen him panick like that." She grinned, taking a moment to reminisce. They had just met Aishou, who had walked in the door slowly, as if she expected someone to go after her with a big knife. Barely two seconds after they had stared at each other, Kiba had burst into the room, like a maniac, and nearly plowed into Aishou, who, as Seiku later learned, did _not_ like to be touched by strangers. Thus, in the three seconds he made contact with her, she flipped onto the window sill and had a dagger out, ready to defend herself. Tora, her dog partner, had her fangs around Kiba's leg.

Akamaru had gone nuts, barking madly at Tora, while Kiba flipped out and Tsunade had a fit. Once Shizune, Anko, and Iruka had managed to get everything calmed down, Kiba had explained that he was Aishou's long lost half-brother, which, in case she wasn't already freaked out by his sudden arrival, freaked her out even more, while Seiku and Animo looked back and forth between them like they were watching a tennis match.

To Seiku and everyone else's intense embarrassment, Kiba announced that according to his mother, Aishou was a mistake, but still his half-sister. As far as Seiku remembered, Aishou had taken it rather well, for just having been told that she wasn't supposed to exist.

Then, Aishou realized that Seiku had actually been a good friend of her's before she had moved away, as very young children. But, because of the changes to her nature, Aishou hadn't been sure what to make of the calm, quiet, and passive Seiku, who hadn't experienced any of the things Aishou had. Having been raised by dogs and experiencing the same abuse that they did in her village, the girl had grown to distrust any and all strangers, found strange and slightly warped joy in the suffering of those she hated, and spent most of her time with her dog. Seiku had recognized her, but had changed somewhat as well. She had matured quite a bit and was extremely compassionate, willing to carry everyone else's burden, having a tendency to be kinder to enemies than one would expect from a ninja, and treating everyone with the same exact quiet, somewhat humorous personality. But, once one became her friend, there was the realization that that personality was fake. She was quiet and humorous, but much more open to her close friends.

The incident with Duli Umi had caused her to withdraw even more inside this shield she had created around herself. Animo had once confided to Aishou that he never knew what the girl was thinking, even though he had spent nearly a year with her and was admittedly one of her closest friends.

Their first mission had been to help herd goats down an abandoned path. It had been a C-ranked mission, which meant it wasn't dangerous, but even so, they had been attacked by rogue ninja who wanted to take them hostage as leverage against the Leaf Village. Seiku's tattoo dragons as well as her skills in taijutsu had protected Aishou from a direct blow to the neck from one of the missing-nin. Seiku watched out for both of her team mates, though both held their own against the rogue ninja, and with Anko's help, they had defeated the missing-nin and drove them off.

A glance at the others told Seiku that they were thinking the same thing she was.

"That was when we learned about Aishou's bombs." She remarked, with a grin. The others nodded, Animo slightly embarrassed. It was only Seiku and Anko's quick intuitive that had saved him from getting blown up. Apparently, Aishou's bombs were a jealously guarded secret and the team found out about them after having dodged one.

"Stop lollygagging and get up here!" Anko's voice carried back to them and Seiku glanced up, realizing that the Jonin was starting to pull aheard of them. They picked up the pace and Animo grumbled,

"Slave driver."

"I heard that!" He made a face.

"Whatcha going to do about it?" Barely two seconds later, she appeared right next to him, kunai in hand.

"AAAHHHHH!" Animo fled behind Seiku, who laughed, mentally thanking Pip for realizing the Anko in front of them was a Shadow Clone. Only their sensei, who was extremely paranoid, would have a Shadow Clone coming back from a D-rank mission. Aishou wasn't startled either, though she jumped out of range purely out of instinct and speedy reflexes. Tora had also told her that the figure before them was a Shadow Clone.

There was both amusement and reproach in Anko's voice as she lectured Animo,

"You need to be more on your toes, laddy. I could have stabbed you and you'd've never known what had hit you." Animo shook his head, shamelessly disagreeing.

"Nuh-uh. Seiku and Aishou wouldn't have let that happen to me. They loooooooooooove me!" Seiku glanced up at the sky and heaved a sigh, while Aishou gave him a look that said, _You only wish._ He pouted and Seiku sighed again, patting him on the back.

"I wouldn't have let her stab you, Animo." He grinned and gave her a big hug, making her wince as she awkwardly patted him on the shoulder.

"See, Anko-sensei! They do love me! Or, uh, Seiku does." He pouted at Aishou, who shrugged, totally immune to his sad puppy face. Or maybe not, because about a minute later, she gave in.

"Okay, I wouldn't have let you die. I might have let her stab you, just not in a vital spot." Animo gaped at her, while Seiku snickered out loud. She could have bitten her laughter down, being excellent at hiding her emotions and lying, but just to bother the gullible Animo, she laughed at him and his shocked expression.

Anko smiled.

"Hmm, I like how she thinks." The Jonin commented, winking at Aishou. Seiku feigned an all-suffering face.

"Maybe because you think exactly the same, sensei." Anko waved her hands.

"Details, details. You overanalyze, Seiku." The girl shrugged, ignoring the critizism she knew her sensei didn't mean.

"And yet, it's true, isn't it?" Anko glared at her and this time, it was Animo who snickered and then was promptly whacked.

"Ow!" Then, all three humans present laughed, accompanied by the barking of a dog and the squeaking of a bat.

"Come on, the Hokage's waiting." Anko ordered, hiding her grin as they continued through the forest.

~~If you like, please click on the lovely review button below! All flames will be used to roast marshmellows and now nonexistent homework!


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